Nilsa relocated to New York City in 2013 and spent many years working in the Chicago storefront theater scene. She founded and served as Chicago Fusion Theatre’s Artistic Director from 2007-2012 where she directed Big Love, 12 Hungry Men and Hugging the Shoulder. She also works as a Teaching Artist and After School Teacher and is passionate about arts education and outreach.
New York acting credits: Indifference (John Chatterton/Midtown International Theatre Festival), Zapata! Tiger of Morelos (Moose Hall Theatre/Inwood Shakespeare Festival). Select Chicago acting credits include Las Hermanas Padilla, The Boy in Black, Proof and bobrauschenbergamerica (CFT), Lorca in a Green Dress and The Other Shore (Halcyon Theatre), The Mark of Zorro (Lifeline Theatre), Operation Infiltration (Factory Theater), Escanaba in da Moonlight (Circle Theatre) and understudied and went on in Anna in the Tropics (Victory Gardens Theater).
DIEZ, a multi-hyphenate ensemble of Latiné artists, has been awarded the 2024 National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures Fund for the Arts grant.
THE BRIDE OF MOYAMOYA is a semi-autobiographical journey of playwright Nilsa Reyna as she heals from left side brain bypass surgery. Learn more about the staged reading here!
Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (Pregones/PRTT) in partnership with The Sol Project announces the full details for the sixth annual SolFest: A Latiné Theatre Festival. The five-day program runs August 27-31 with both online and in-person events including four evenings of live programming at PRT.
Discover the diverse and captivating program of SOLFEST 2023, presented by The Sol Project. From exciting performances to engaging workshops, this unmissable event taking place from August 27-31 promises a week filled with entertainment and inspiration. Be sure to mark your calendars for SOLFEST 2023 and immerse yourself in the vibrant world of theater and arts.
Oscar A. L. Cabrera, Alisha Espinosa, and Latinx Playwrights Circle have announced that the playwrights selected for this year's Intensive Mentorship are: Iraisa Ann Reilly for Miss American Pretty; and Justin Santory for Time, Don't Take It Away.
South Texas College (STC) Theatre presents its inaugural South Texas Latinx New Play Festival. The festival will take place on Friday, June 24 and Saturday, June 25 at 7 p.m. and on Saturday, June 25 at 2 p.m. Performances will be at STC’s Cooper Center for Performing Arts Main Stage Theater at 3200 W. Pecan Blvd. in McAllen.
The Latinx Playwrights Circle and Primary Stages are thrilled to announce that the playwrights selected for the Intensive Mentorship '19-'20 will be presented with a professional panel discussion followed by a live reading of their play. The goal of this format is to incubate the audience with specific questions dealing with the themes of the play. From there, the plays will push these conversations past the readings and give more insight into the developmental process these Latinx artists have engaged in with their mentorship in this program.
PRIMARY STAGES has announced its Fall 2020 Virtual Season. The Foundation Series will revisit the work of some of Primary Stages' family of artists, including The Tribute Artist by Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Award winner Charles Busch and The Night Watcher by Obie Award winner and Tony Award nominee Charlayne Woodard.
The Sol Project (Jacob G. Padrón, Artistic Director), the national theater initiative dedicated to amplifying Latinx voices and building a body of work for the new American theater, is proud to partner with the Latinx Playwrights Circle and announce Latinx Theater State of Emergency, an evening of excerpts from plays by the finalists of the inaugural Latinx Playwrights Circle Intensive Mentorship - Andres Osorio, Nilsa Reyna, Andrew Rincón, and Noelle Viñas - and a town hall conversation with members of the Latinx Playwrights Circle and The Sol Project, hosted by Primary Stages. The event is free and open to the public and begins at 8pm on Tuesday, December 10 at the Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street).
PRIMARY STAGES (Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Shane D. Hudson, Executive Director; Casey Childs, Founder) announced today additional programming for the month-long festival of solo performances, readings, and special events, featuring members of the Primary Stages family.
The Frank Silvera Writers Workshop kicks off its forty-seventh annual reading series this Monday September 9th at 7pm with David Davila's immigration drama, Aztec Pirates And The Insignificance Of Life On Mars. The reading, directed by Nilsa Reyna, features Ollie Corchado, Cory Alexander, Lillian Andrea De Leon, Julia Botero, Selina Michelle Fonseca, Gerard Lucero, Alexandra Castro, and Jatnna Marte.
The Friends of Janie Martinez Executive Council present: Janie Martinez Life Celebration Memorial to honor her life and work. The evening will feature tribute performances by: Kira, Suzan Perry, Nilsa Reyna, Bryn Packard, and others. The celebration will take place on September 7, 2019, from 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm at El Cortez in Bushwick, located at 17 Ingraham Street, Brooklyn, NY 11206. Tickets are free, but an RSVP is highly recommended as space is limited. Please guarantee your seat at: Janie Martinez Life Celebration Memorial, Pioneer of Body Positivity Icon Eventbrite.
Two evenings of readings, featuring excerpts of new works from The NYC Latinx Playwright Circle.
Daughters of Troy announces a reading of Stroke Vagina, a new play by Nilsa Reyna. The reading features Ashley Candelaria, Bryan Cortes, Nina Simisterra and Liz Mattera. The reading will be directed by Daphnie Sicre. Stroke Vagina will be presented March 23rd at 7:30 PM at the Dramatist Guild Foundation Music Hall. Tickets are free and doors open at 7:15 PM.
The next Madness of the season will take place during the Estrogenius Festival at The Kraine and will feature a line-up of female-identifying Latinx playwrights. It will take place on Sunday, March 31st at 8pm at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery).
The One-Minute Play Festival (#1MPF) (Dominic D'Andrea, Producing Artistic Director; Caitlin Wees, Associate Artistic Director) and INTAR (Lou Moreno, Artistic Director; John McCormack, Executive Director) continue their acclaimed collaboration with The 7th Annual INTAR One-Minute Play Festival, with part of the proceeds to benefit UNIT 52, INTAR's training program for emerging artists. After seven years of partnership that celebrates Latinx ideas and narratives, the festival welcomes the next generation of 1MPF artists, who join some of our alumni cohort.
The One-Minute Play Festival (#1MPF) and INTAR continue their acclaimed collaboration with The 6th Annual INTAR One-Minute Play Festival, with part of the proceeds to benefit UNIT 52, INTAR's training program for emerging artists. Following sold-out performances in more than twenty cities, this festival aims to celebrate Latinx voices and investigate the cultural zeitgeist through this exciting process.
The One-Minute Play Festival (#1MPF) and INTAR continue their acclaimed collaboration with The 6th Annual INTAR One-Minute Play Festival, with part of the proceeds to benefit UNIT 52, INTAR's training program for emerging artists. Following sold-out performances in more than twenty cities, this festival aims to celebrate Latinx voices and investigate the cultural zeitgeist through this exciting process.
New York Madness has announced the schedule for its 2017-18 season, their second in residence with FRIGID New York @ Horse Trade at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery).
FRIGID New York @ Horse Trade will present the October installment of New York Madness on Sunday, October 30 at 8pm with guest playwrights Dennis A. Allen II (Won the 2010 Sam French Festival for The Mud is Thicker in Mississippi; Recipient of Atlantic Theater Company's inaugural 2014-15 Launch Commission), Maggie Bofill (Drawn and Quartered at INTAR, NY Times Critics Pick; Winners at EST, 2015), Nat Cassidy (2009 NYIT Award forThe Reckoning of Kit & Little Boots; 2011 NYIT Award for Outstanding Solo Performance), Shaun B. Fauntleroy (#SPEAKUP: The Street Harassment Plays with Flux Theatre Ensemble), Gina Femia (semi-finalist The O'Neill and The Princess Grace Award for Super, or, How Clark Graves Learned to Fly; Mahogany Brown and the Case of the Disappearing Kid at The Brick; Five-Sided Triangle at Dixon Place), Julienne Hairston (Ababuo and#Hashtag with Project Y; Coal Run Road in The 2015 Fire This Time Festival), Judith Leora (The Cookie Fight with Bristol Valley Theatre; Gideon with Ego Actus), Nilsa Reyna (founding Artistic Director of Chicago's Fusion Theatre; Legends of Texas with Lonestar Theatre), and Deborah Yarchun(Honorable Mention on The Kilroy's List for The Aleph Complex; EST/Sloan Commission for Tectonic Melange).
Videos